The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has offered to make a personal contribution to support the restoration work on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
The church is believed by many to occupy the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial and is visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year. Its ownership and maintenance is shared in a complex arrangement between different Churches.
The shrine at the heart of the complex called the Aedicule, the supposed location of the tomb of Jesus, is being renovated at a cost of $3.4 million and the monument, which in its present form dates back to 1810, is being completely rebuilt.
According to the Fides news service, President Abbas made the offer to a delegation of Church leaders who visited his palace in the West Bank town of Ramallah. He told them: "The Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre is a national and religious symbol for the Palestinian people. We have the duty to look after it, protect it and contribute to its restoration.
"We have therefore decided to make a personal contribution for the restoration work being carried out on the Tomb of Christ".
A donation to help toward the cost of the work has also been made by King Abdullah of Jordan.
The renovations will see the the marble slabs taken off, the 12th century Crusader shrine beneath the Aedicule repaired and the cracks in the rock-hewn tomb under that filled. The noisy work is being undertaken at night to minimise the disruption to pilgrims.
